A federal judge in Boston has temporarily stopped the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing key provisions of a new rule aimed at tightening the way Americans vote by mail ahead of the November congressional elections.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order after Democratic-led states and voting rights organizations challenged the Postal Service’s new requirements. The order comes just days after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the rules to take effect by lifting earlier injunctions against the administration’s voting plan.
The dispute centers on requirements that would give the Postal Service a greater role in determining whether mail ballots can be processed. Under the rule, states would have to provide the agency with lists of voters receiving mail ballots, while ballot envelopes would need to carry unique barcodes. Ballots that failed to meet the requirements, or were linked to voters missing from state-submitted lists, could potentially be rejected for delivery.
Talwani said the government had not demonstrated a sufficient problem with fraudulent mail voting to justify the new restrictions. She also indicated that the rule likely conflicts with constitutional protections governing the states’ authority to administer elections.
In her ruling, the judge emphasized the potential consequences for voters who depend on mail ballots, warning that the restrictions could create widespread barriers to participation.
The temporary order will remain in effect for 14 days while the court considers whether to impose a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. A hearing on that question is scheduled for September 3.
The challenge was brought by Democratic-led states along with voting rights organizations, including the League of Women Voters. They contend that imposing the new standards so close to the election would leave states scrambling to purchase new equipment, redesign ballot envelopes, establish new systems and train election workers.
The Postal Service adopted the rule to carry out an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March. Trump has long advocated tighter controls on mail voting and has repeatedly promoted the unsubstantiated claim that widespread fraud was responsible for his 2020 election loss.
Mail voting remains a major part of the U.S. electoral system. Every state permits some form of voting by mail, while 29 states allow voters to request a mail ballot without giving a specific reason. Eight states conduct elections entirely through the mail.
The scale of the system was evident in 2024, when the Postal Service said it handled nearly 100 million election ballots. State data showed that roughly three in every 10 voters nationwide used mail voting that year.
For now, the judge’s order keeps the Postal Service from putting the disputed requirements fully into practice, leaving the broader battle over federal control of mail voting unresolved as the midterm elections approach.
